Introduction

Hungarian agriculture today has a dual structure consisting of large-scale, mechanised farms alongside semi-subsistence, small-scale farms managed with family labour and traditional practices. Dualism has persisted in some form throughout Hungarian history. From 1955 to 1989, during the socialist period of collectivised agriculture, families were permitted to produce for their own needs on small tracts adjacent to their dwellings, commonly known as ‘home gardens’ (Szelényi 1998; Kovách 1999; Swain 2000; Szép 2000; Meurs 2001; Cros Kárpáti et al. 2004). These small-scale farms became refuges for a range of local varieties of trees, crops and livestock breeds, as well as soil micro-organisms. Agricultural scientists describe home gardens as micro-agro-ecosystems that are rich in several components of agro-biodiversity (Már and Juhász 2002; Csizmadia 2004).

Despite the changes engendered by transition to market economy during the past decade, the structure of agriculture remains dualistic, in part because incomplete food markets persist. In addition to lower agricultural incomes, high inflation and unemployment rates, consumers have difficulties obtaining reliable product information and predicting product availability (Feick et al. 1993). Search costs and transport costs to the nearest food market remain high. The number of hypermarkets in Hungary has grown from only 5 in 1996 to 63 in 2003 (Hungarian Central Statistical Office (HCSO) 2003). A study by the World Health Organisation (WHO 2005) found that these have contributed to the disappearance of the few extant local shops and markets.

The field of biodiversity economics, i.e. the analysis of the problems at the interface between the disciplines of economics and biology, probably has its origins primarily in the work of Colin Clark. Much of this early work looked at the exploitation of fisheries in the context of various institutional assumptions: open access, social planning, etc. Since these early efforts, the field of biodiversity economics has expanded in many different directions. It still concerns the analysis of the causes of resource overexploitation and decline, but also includes within its core the examination of the sorts of externalities involved (values) and the types of policies applied. In addition, and most crucially, the field now encompasses many resources other than simply marine resources: forests, wildlife, and even genetic resources (used in agriculture and pharmaceutical industries). The entire diversity of biological resources within the living world is now brought within the field of biodiversity economics.

All of these problems share a common aspect – the dynamic nature of biological resources. Biological resources are distinctive in that they live and grow and respond to other living things. This generates a common analysis across the entire discipline that focuses on how human societies interact with other living things and how management should take biological characteristics into consideration.

In this volume we provide a set of papers that demonstrates the application of this framework across the entire range of issues currently under consideration within this important field.

An introduction to biodiversity economics

Biodiversity economics examines the causes, values and policies associated with the problem of biodiversity decline. It usually involves a dynamic analysis of the living resources and hence it must often incorporate the facets of growth and responsiveness that are characteristics of such living things. In addition, it often focuses on the more esoteric forms of non-use values, such as real options and existence values, and the techniques available for quantifying them. Finally, it must also consider the manner in which decisions are taken in the context of such complicated dynamics and values. In sum, the field of biodiversity economics considers some of the interesting and complex dynamics within and between the social and natural worlds.

In this volume we attempt to categorise the various parts of this field under three headings: causes, values and policies. We then use a set of papers to demonstrate the meanings of these categories in this field and the development and extension of these concepts in this context. The intention is to demonstrate both the entire set of issues encompassed by the field of biodiversity economics and the manner in which frontier-level analysis and research is being undertaken within this realm.

Biodiversity economics is exciting and important work, as demonstrated by the various chapters within this volume. It encompasses both interesting topics and contexts (such as wildlife, forests and genetic resources) and important and complex problems (such as biological resistance, invasion and valuation).